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Nine years ago I bought the cheapest new 5-foot cutter I could find. It has an Agra-Five decal on it. I think the gear box is the same as the Tractor Supply and several other of the off-brands. The first year, in late August, S.E. Nebraska, I cut a new seeding of C.R.P. Bluestem. There were more tall (four or five or more feet) broad-leaf weeds and shatter-cane than Bluestem. The engine in the N ran like new and much of the time cutting the 58 acres we (N&I) could only cut about a two foot swath of the tallest and heaviest because we didn't have the power. This was low gear and wide open. The shear pins on the PTO drive shaft were 3/8 inch grade five and we broke 2 or 3 dozen of them. When you run like that, with the N and hit a clump of stuff you have the full force of the engine plus the velocity and mass of the forward motion transmitted directly to the PTO shaft. With a live PTO, you might get some clutch slippage, and would therefore shear fewer pins or put less stess on the shaft. Since then, we have cut acres of wild plum growth, in native pasture, up to two inches in diameter. Last spring I hired a more experienced operator to do the plums and he refused to go after the big stuff because he was concerned he would damage the HOG. I then did it successfully. He said "you've got more guts than I have." For maintenance I have done the following: retightened and double-nutted a lot of the bolts, straighted and welded sheetmetal, sharpened the blades, kept gear-oil in the box and cut a three inch hole in the top sheetmetal to get at the blade bolts. There are no weights on the front of the N and rear weight is no problem. Once, when operating there was one hell of a commotion behind me, and out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of something red rolling in the grass to the right and away from the HOG. My first thought was that is was the gear-box, but it was only my chain-saw. Never have I abused a piece of equipment the way I have the HOG and it just "keeps going and going".
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